HuskerMax Season Predictions: Record, MVPs, College Football Playoff

The HuskerMax contributors pooled their thoughts in season predictions, answering questions about the upcoming Nebraska football campaign.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule speaks to the media during the Big Ten Football Media Days at Mandalay Bay Resort. | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Preseason practice is officially underway, and the Nebraska football season is just over a month away.

Ahead of the 2025 campaign, the 136th season in program history and year three of the Matt Rhule era, the HuskerMax crew put together some predictions. Check those out below.

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Nebraska's 2025 Record

Predictions varied from 7-5 to 10-2, with most falling in the 8-9 win range. Even those most pessimistic of prognosticators would have Nebraska with its best regular season since Mike Riley's 2016 season saw the Big Red go 9-3 before a Music City Bowl loss.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley looks on against the Maryland Terrapins in the first half at Memorial Stadium. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

The last time Nebraska hit double-digit wins was 2012, when Bo Pelini's Huskers had a 10-2 regular season before losses in the Big Ten Championship game and the Capital One Bowl.

Which team will be Nebraska's first loss?

With nobody predicting a perfect season (sorry, Kool-Aid drinkers), most believe Michigan will be Nebraska's first loss of the season. That would mean a 3-1 start to the season, which would match 2024 for the best start through four games for Nebraska since 2019.

The only other team to pop up was Minnesota. The Huskers and Gophers meet in Minneapolis for a Friday affair in mid-October. If Minnesota were to be the first loss for Nebraska, that would mean a 6-0 start with wins including Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland.

Who will lead the team in rushing yards?

Only one player was listed for this one: running back Emmett Johnson.

Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the second half against the Boston College Eagles at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Last season, Johnson played in all 13 games with five starts. He ranked second on the team with 117 carries and 598 rushing yards and led Nebraska with 908 all-purpose yards.

After reaching double-digit carries just once over the first nine games of the year, Johnson averaged 14.75 attempts during the final four games under Dana Holgorsen. Not only were his attempts up, but so was his production. Johnson had 52.5% of his rushing yards in the final 30.8% of the season.

Who will lead the team in rushing touchdowns?

Same for above, but this is an area that Johnson will need to find more production in compared to 2024. He only had one rushing touchdown, a 36-yard run against Northern Iowa.

Of Nebraska's 22 rushing touchdowns last year, 15 are gone between Dante Dowdell, Gabe Ervin Jr., and Rahmir Johnson. Jacory Barney Jr. was second on the team in rushing with three, while Emmett, Janiran Bonner, Heinrich Haarberg, and Kwinten Ives all return after finding paydirt in 2024.

Who will lead the team in receiving yards?

Three of Nebraska's top four for receiving yards from a year ago are gone, in Jahmal Banks, Isaiah Neyor, and Thomas Fidone. Barney was third with 447 yards.

Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. runs the ball for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

That loss of production extends further with six of the top eight gone. But that's why the Huskers dipped into the portal, which is where the most-listed player for this spot came from: Dane Key.

Last year with Kentucky, Key made 47 receptions for 715 yards. Barney and transfer Nyziah Hunter were both also listed.

Who will lead the team in receiving touchdowns?

Again, with Neyor and Banks gone, so go the top two in this category from a year ago. Key and Barney split the most ballots for this one, with Hunter getting some run as well.

Besides the wideouts, tight ends Luke Lindenmeyer and Heinrich Haarberg also got some run. The last tight end to lead Nebraska in receiving touchdowns for a season was Thomas Fidone with four in 2023. The last tight end to lead a Holgorsen offense in receiving touchdowns was Mark Hafner with 11 in 2008 at Houston.

Dylan Raiola's TD/INT ratio

In 2024, Raiola had 13 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Everyone surveyed is predicting a better 2025, even if the interceptions are that much different.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola passes against the Wisconsin Badgers. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The low end for touchdowns for Raiola was 18, but the majority of respondents were in the mid to high 20s, with 29 at the top. The last Husker quarterback to throw at least 18 touchdowns in a season was Tanner Lee with 23 in 2017. That's tied with Taylor Martinez (2012) for third on the all-time single-season touchdowns list, behind Zac Taylor (26, 2006) and Joe Ganz (25, 2008).

As for interceptions, 10 was the most submitted number, with the high being 12 and low sitting at six. Lee was the last Husker quarterback to start every game of a season, doing so in 2017, when he threw a dozen interceptions.

Offensive MVP

No surprises here, as the unanimous selection was Raiola. That would definitely be the case if he had a record-breaking fall.

Defensive MVP

This is the category with the most variance in answers. Georgia Southern transfer linebacker Marques Watson-Trent picked up the most selections, followed by defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel.

Georgia Southern linebacker Marques Watson-Trent rushes against James Madison on Saturday at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro. | FRANK FORTUNE/SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS / USA TODAY NETWORK

Others names that popped up: Vincent Shavers, Malcolm Hartzog, DeShon Singleton, Williams Nwaneri, Cam Lenhardt, Dasan McCullough, Javin Wright, and Marques Buford.

Offensive player that we will talk about more than we are now

Plenty of variance here, too, with the players that are most likely to emerge as the season progresses and have us talking about them more than we did through the offseason.

Topping that list of names is tight end Luke Lindenmeyer. He saw action in all 13 games last year, making two starts. An excellent blocker, he had five catches for 50 yards. But he's perhaps getting lost in the conversation with the transition of Heinrich Haarberg and the recovery of Alabama transfer Mac Markway.

Other names submitted include Kwinten Ives, Cortez Mills, Isaiah Mozee, and Jason Maciejczak.

Defensive player that we will talk about more than we are now

Despite the most votes for defensive MVP, Watson-Trent also picked up some submissions here. That shows the differences in how players are talked about for the upcoming season but also their expectations. In Watson-Trent's case, his expectations are not only MVP of the Blackshirts, but also to have us talking about him much more over the next few months.

Other names submitted include Van Poppel, Caleb Benning, Jeremiah Charles, and Donovan Jones.

Assistant coach most likely not to return to Nebraska next season

We did not ask which coach will be fired here. This could be to take another job, as an upgrade to a coordinator or head coach, or for a variety of reasons.

Nebraska Cornhuskers assistant coach Dana Holgorsen during warmups before a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

With that said, the most submitted coach was offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. Multiple people added that he would be taking another job offer. Holgorsen took over the offense last in the 2024 season and was then named the full-time OC.

Other names submitted include Phil Snow, Rob Dvoracek, Mike Ekeler, and Addison Williams.

Big Ten Coach most likely not to return next season

This one does have "hot seat" implications, and the submissions reflect that.

Wisconsin's Luke Fickell was the overwhelming favorite here. In two seasons in Madison, Fickell is 12-13, including a missed bowl game in 2024. That was the first losing season and missed bowl game for the Badgers since 2001.

Other names submitted include Maryland's Mike Locksley, USC's Lincoln Riley, and UCLA's DeShaun Foster.

Big Ten Championship game

Pick your favorite combination of Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon. Those were the only submissions (sorry Illinois, Michigan, and everyone else). The Nittany Lions play both the Ducks and Buckeyes, with Oregon and Ohio State don't meet in the regular season after two classics last year.

Oregon Ducks players hold up the Big Ten trophy on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, after the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, 45-37. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Overrated Big Ten team

Not listed for any Big Ten Championship game combinations was Michigan, who is listed the most here. The Wolverines were followed closely by Penn State.

Other teams submitted include Illinois, Indiana, USC.

Underrated Big Ten team

Despite showing up as overrated, Illinois, Indiana, and USC are both here with nods as being underrated. Neither had as many votes as UCLA, though, who is heading into year two of the DeShaun Foster era after a 5-7 2024.

Other teams submitted include Washington and Nebraska.

Heisman Winner

The runaway leader here was Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith had the second-most votes.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Jordan Hancock (7) and safety Caleb Downs (2) during the second quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Other names submitted include Penn State QB Drew Allar, Florida QB DJ Lagway, Clemson QB Cade Klubnick, and South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers.

Most surprising team in Playoff

Ready for this one, Illinois fans? The Illini are overrated, underrated, and about to make the College Football Playoff. Yes, Illinois is listed here as well, but did not receive as many votes as South Carolina.

While not listed as an underrated team, despite being picked seventh in the Big Ten preseason poll, Iowa is listed here as well.

Other teams submitted include SMU, Utah, and Kansas State.

National Championship game

A rematch of last year's Cotton Bowl, and the CFP national semifinal, is the leader for most-likely national title game: Texas vs. Ohio State. The Buckeyes won that game 28-14, before winning the whole thing over Notre Dame.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard (18) runs past Texas defenders during the 2025 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. | Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Other teams listed as favorites to make the national championship are Oregon, Georgia, and Penn State.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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